Tag: Reads

REVIEW: Before fleeing in horror from a book about numbers and mathematics, take a moment to consider the humor of Charles Wheelan's “Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data” (ISBN: 978-0-393-34777-7). Odds are you'll enjoy it. Well, at least sixty or seventy percent of it.

The post Book Review: Numbers in the Raw Equal ‘Naked Statistics’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: Demonstrating how the malignancy known as Conservatism has repeatedly poisoned the Supreme Court of the United States, "Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted" by Ian Millhiser (ISBN: 9781568584560) is detailed, horrific, and important.

The post Book Review: Supreme Injustice in ‘Injustices: The Supreme Court’s History of Comforting the Comfortable’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: Barton Swaim has done what every writer secretly longs to do: publish the unvarnished reality about his jerk employer. Too short to be called a tell-all, 'The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics' (ISBN: 9781476769929) is an interesting portrait of a stupid and disgusting Republican politician (as if there's any other kind).

The post Book Review: Writer Bites Boss in Barton Swaim’s ‘The Speechwriter’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: Richard Nixon embodied nearly everything that is evil about Conservatives, and then he added alcoholism and paranoia to the mix. In Tim Weiner's 'One Man Against the World: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon' (ISBN: 9781627790833), the revelations from Nixon's recently-released secret tapes go beyond the deceitfulness we already knew about Tricky Dick.

The post Book Review: Nix On Nixon – ‘One Man Against the World’ appeared first on MuseWire.

Robotics, politics, and economics -- they're coming to take your job. That's just one warning in "Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future" (ISBN: 9780465059997), Martin Ford's quietly frightening book that's actually more about economics than robotics.

The post Book Review: ‘Rise of the Robots’ – They’re coming to take your job! appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: It may sound like baby-talk but Dada was a controversial art movement that flared up during World War I and insisted on taking unconventionality to new heights. "Destruction Was My Beatrice: Dada and the Unmaking of the Twentieth Century" (ISBN: 9780465089963) by Jed Rasula presents a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of Dadaists as they attempted to forever alter art and literature.

The post Book Review: If You Know Nada about Dada – ‘Destruction Was My Beatrice’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: Making things go 'boom' is just one result of the incredible journey of the scientists working with Ernest O. Lawrence. His besmirch and destruction lairs -- oops, I mean research and development facilities -- shaped our modern age. Michael Hiltzik takes you up close and personal with the people of “Big Science” (ISBN: 9781451675757) who put us on the road to dealing with the dreaded military-industrial complex.

The post Book Review: My, What Big Science You Have! Dealing with the Dreaded Military-industrial Complex appeared first on MuseWire.

BOOK REVIEW: If humanity keeps on its present course, the result may well be “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History” (ISBN: 9781250062185). Elizabeth Kolbert's writing is delightful even as her book documents a doomsday scenario.

The post Will Humans be the Next Extinction? Welcome to Doomsday in Kolbert’s ‘The Sixth Extinction’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: Chuckles, chortles, grins, guffaws and belly laughs. You'll find all that and more in 'The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America' (ISBN: 9780060920081), a wonderfully observant and politically incorrect book from Bill Bryson.

The post Book Review: Finding a Funny Continent in Bryson’s ‘The Lost Continent’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: With two million copies sold, Howard Zinn's 'A People's History of the United States' (ISBN: 9780060838652) is possibly the most successful history book in, well, history. It is also riveting, sobering, and valuable. While decent Americans admire it, RWNJs loathe it.

The post Book Review: Birthed in Blood and Betrayal – A People’s History of the United States appeared first on MuseWire.

BOOK REVIEW: While it's aimed at policy wonks instead of the normal reading public, "We Are Better Than This: How Government Should Spend Our Money" (ISBN: 9780199332243) by Edward D. Kleinbard contains much that could help the USA live up to our repeated claims of being the greatest nation in the world.

The post Book Review: What if we Tax and Spend Wisely? – ‘We Are Better Than This’ appeared first on MuseWire.

BOOK REVIEW: From a force for good to today's evil incarnate, the Republican Party has had its rare ups and insidious downs before arriving at their current position as supporters of gridlock, corporatism, oligarchy, and all things anti-humane. In "To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party" (ISBN: 9780465024315) the whole sordid story of the GOP is told by Heather Cox Richardson in lightning-fast segments.

The post Book Review: GOP vs. USA: A Brief History – ‘To Make Men Free’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: Zephyr Teachout believes that venality has been on the minds and in the bloodstream of politicians since the founding of the nation. In "Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United" (ISBN: 9780674050402) she makes the case and provides some possible resolutions to the problem.

The post Book Review: Tons of ‘Corruption in America’ – venality has been in bloodstream of politicians since founding appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: How often do you look forward to reading about science and history? Bill Bryson makes learning enjoyable in 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' (ISBN: 978-0-307-88515-9) now available in an illustrated edition. Why can't textbooks be this delightful and fascinating?

The post Book Review: ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ is delightful and fascinating appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: Naomi Klein writes passionately and persuasively in her new book, 'This Changes Everything' (ISBN: 9781451697384). It will anger you, scare you, throw you for a loop, and ultimately uplift you.

The post Book Review: Naomi Klein’s Revolutionary Take on Capitalism ‘This Changes Everything’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: A strange saga filled to the brim with fear and loathing, Rick Perlstein's 'The Invisible Bridge' documents the point in US history where the rightwing began to team up with corporations, racists, and morons to begin systematically destroying this nation. Subtitled 'The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan,' the book (ISBN: 978-1-4767-8241-6) is a well-written chill ride full of ominous shudders.

The post Book Review: Onset of the Zombie Apocalypse in ‘The Invisible Bridge’ appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW (by John Scott G): Stacks of facts tumble over each other in the second edition of 'What You Should Know About Politics...But Don't" (ISBN-13: 9781611454758) by Jessamyn Conrad, and it would be an incredibly valuable book if it contained an index. Still, this is a fairly handy reference guide despite some notable lapses into placating the odious conservative fringe.

The post Book Review: ‘What You Don’t Know About Politics’ Would Fill a Book appeared first on MuseWire.

REVIEW: Humanity triumphs on every page of Elizabeth Warren's "A Fighting Chance" (ISBN: 9781627790529). Her life story is inspirational but it's her goals -- fairness, a level playing field, justice -- that are crucial to our country's future.

The post Book Review: People Deserve ‘A Fighting Chance’ appeared first on MuseWire.

BOOK REVIEW: When you die, what happens? Lots of folks are attempting to make money by demonstrating they have the answer, but there's this teeny-tiny thing called facts getting in their way. Mary Roach finds humor in every bone-chilling moment of her investigation.

The post Dead Uncertain: Book Review of ‘Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife’ by Mary Roach appeared first on MuseWire.